So we are excited to share news of this kid-friendly guided hike organized by the Santa Clarita-based Community Hiking Club with a naturalist guide who also know this area's history and culture well. I do hope we will find the "massive ladybug occurence" which is very possible - think positively!!!
Please RSVP for his hike -- it is free (donations welcome) -- and here is the contact info from the organizer, Dianne. If you do come on this adventure, please ask for me :) We would love to meet other similarly adventurous and curious families! The information below comes from their April newsletter aptly titled "Call of the Wild":
661-259-2743 RSVP Dianne at: zuliebear@aol.com
Sunday April 10- Ladybug Hunt up Frazier Mountain with "Naturalist For You" 9AM-1PM
Meet at the Ridge Route Museum just before 9:00 AM and experience the colorful history of the Frazier Mountain area. Artifacts and photographs tell compelling stories about the Chumash, El Camino Viejo (The Old Road), Tejon Pass, the Old Ridge Route (prior to the Interstate 5 Freeway), and the mountain communities. Carpool from the museum to the trailhead. Ascend the slope of Frazier Mountain past fragrant sagebrush scrub, gnarly canyon live oak woodland, and majestic coniferous forest. See colorful lichen displays on jagged boulders. As pinyon pines give way to white fir, enjoy panoramic views of the valley and surrounding mountain ranges. Search for wildlife evidence and spring bloomers. Come across an overflowing spring supporting willows and maple. Possibility of observing a massive ladybug occurrence. Afterwards, you can opt to enjoy a delicious lunch and freshly baked dessert at the Coffee Cantina in Frazier Park. This is not an included activity, but many of the attendees will choose to dine here. You may also opt to bring your lunch or visit some of the local fast food outlets for lunch.
Who: Kids 10 and up (Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.) and Adults
Where: Meet at the Ridge Route Communities Museum, 3515 Park Dr, Frazier Park, CA 93225, (661) 245-7747 9:00 AM
Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous (4-5 miles round-trip, dirt truck trail, some rough terrain, roughly 1000 feet of elevation gain, muddy conditions near spring)
Special Instructions/Supplies:
Please arrive at least 15 minutes before start time. Bring a minimum of 1 quart (32 oz) of water per person. Bring snacks and/or full meal. Wear weather protection (jacket, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.), durable hiking socks and close-toed hiking shoes (extra pair for wet tours-there may be a little snow or mud), long pants, and backpack for snacks. Bring first aid kit (Band-Aids, antiseptic, allergy medicine, tweezers, etc.) and cell phone. Walking sticks are recommended if you have them.
RSVP: Please RSVP to Dianne as we need a head count for the naturalist guide before April 10. (Small donations can be given to the naturalist/guide Joel if you would like, or to Dianne)
PLEASE CONTACT DIANNE AT zuliebear@aol.com to let her know for her head count.
Here's some information on what the ladybugs are doing when they overwinter from this site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/wildlife-in-winter-adaptations-for-survival/112
"Some species of invertebrates overwinter, often as adults, in a state called torpor. They find somewhere secluded, perhaps under a log, stone or in a hole, and stay there throughout the cold months. Special chemicals are released into their body fluids to prevent them from freezing, in the way that anti-freeze works in the radiator of a car. Many caterpillars, some butterflies, slugs, snails, queen wasps and bumblebees spend the winter in this way.
Ladybirds often overwinter in colonies in thick hollow stems, amongst leaf litter, around window and door edges, under logs and many other sheltered corners such as the corner of a garden shed. Take care not to disturb sleeping ladybirds if you find them when tidying up the garden; in the spring they will wake up and begin eating aphid pests which will also have reappeared."
Even if you cannot make it to this hike, this link tells more about a ladybug's life cycle, and there is a photo of a ladybug colony too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ehow.com/facts_5566009_ladybugs-life-cycles.html
Ladybugs in their larvae and pupa stage looks really different:
http://www.ladybug-life-cycle.com/
What does a newly emerged ladybug (one that just hatched out of the pupa) look like?
Visit www.ladybuglady.com/NewLadybug.html to see one emerge step by step.
Do you know what is the origin of this nursery rhyme?
Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home.
Your house is on fire, your children will roam.
Except little Nan,
Who sits in a pan,
Weaving gold laces as fast as she can.
Find out at this link where you can also enjoy such ladybug lore:
n spring, if numerous ladybugs fly around in the British countryside, English farmers say it FORECASTS BOUNTIFUL CROPS.
In France, ladybugs are believed to BRING FINE WEATHER.
To see a ladybug is GOOD LUCK, but to kill it brings misfortune.
If a ladybug lands on a piece of your clothing, your jacket for example, you'll SOON GET A NEW JACKET.
If you catch a ladybug in your home, count the number of dots on the beetle's back. You're DESTINED TO RECEIVE AS MANY DOLLARS as there are dots.
A man and a woman, who notice a ladybug together, are BOUND FOR ROMANCE
http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/parks/parksarticle?path=%2Fv7%2FParks%20and%20Recreation%2C%20Department%20of%20%28DEP%29&contentId=67228a77d9784010VgnVCMP230004adc4a92____